Bag filling machine



Oct. 4, 1932. N. 5., DORRINGTON ET AL 1,380,395

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.$

NEZLL. C. D0128 ZNG'TON WZLLZfl/Y B. PETZBJON 69W 1 @W A TTORNEYS.

Oct. 4, 1932- N. E. DORRINGTON ET AL 1,880,895

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed April 16. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORJ ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 4, 1932. N. E. DORRINGTON ET AL 1,380,895

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 L 1932. N. E. DORRINGTON ET AL 1,889,895

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A mmw m T m Nm R wfimwm No mm mm w mv Oct, 4, 1932. N. E. DORRINGTON ET AL 1,380,895

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ralllllll lll L IN l "If/V TOAS y 5. poem/v0 ro/v A TTORNE "'5 Patented Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

NEILL E. DOBRINGTON AND WILLIAM R. PETERSON, OT OSWEGO, NEW YORK; ASSIGNORS TO ST. BEGIS PAPER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. 'Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK BAG FILLING MACHINE Application filed April 16,

- out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical section approximately on the line 1 -1 of Fig. 2; Figure 2 is a view from the right of Fig. 1, with parts broken away and parts in section; Figure 3 is a horizontal section approximately on the line 3-3 of. Figs. 1 and 2, parts being broken away for convenience of illustration; Figure 4 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3; Figure 5 is a detail view of the trip lever catch; Figure 6 is a detail view of the trip lever pawl; Figure 7 is a detail section of the trip lever fulcrum; Figure 8 is a detail section of the fulcrum of the trip lever catch; Figure 9 is a detail section of a bearing; Figure 10 is a vertical cross section of a modified form of hopper and propeller; Figure 11 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 10, with parts broken away; Figure 12 is a plan View of the hopper and housing shown in Fig-10; and Figure 13 is an elevation of the end flange of the filling tube.

In the construction shown, the machine is mounted upon a frame comprising end members 10 and 11 with rear cross beams 12, a central cross beam 13 and an upper beam 14 constituting a hopper support. In the central portion of the top beam 14 there are hopper spaces 15 adapted to receive material from a bin in any suitable way. Beneath the hopper spaces there are chutes 16 and 17 I which are identical except that one is left hand and one is right hand. There is a dischargingdevice and weighing mechanism in s these devices are identical, but one will be described in detail.

As most clearlv appears from Fig. 2, one wall 18 of the chute 16 is substantially verti- 1931. Serial No. 580,560.

cal while the other wall 19 slants downward towards the vertical wall, making the chute substantially triangular in cross section. Mounted on the vertical wall there is a journal 20 through which passes the shaft 61 of a propeller which comprises a disc 21 and blades 22. The lower part of the chute is formed with a groove'23 in which the propeller blades run, and a shroud 24 is provided over the upper portion of the propeller, the .shroudhaving a flange 25 which slants downward towards wall 19 of the chute, providing clearance space for the upper portion of the propeller.

As will appear from Fig. 1, there is an opening 26 from groove 23, and a discharge spout 27 is normally arranged in approximate alinement with opening 26. The discharge spout is mounted upon a frame 28 which has a pair of bearings 29 fulcrumed at 30 on the forks of a scale beam 31. Bearings 32 mounted on beam 13 supportknife edge bearings 33 provided on the scale beam. Beneath cross piece 13 there is a bracket 34 on which there is adjustably mounted a link 35 which hooks over a member 36 upon a cross piece 37 of frame 28, whereby frame 28 is maintained in predetermined vertical I position;

A cradle 38 is fulcrumcd at 40 upon a bottom member 39 of frame 28. Cradle 38 carries a vertically adjustable bottom support 41 for the bag. Near the top of frame 28 there is a cross piece 42 carrying a bag clamp 43 having on its upper side a pivoted pawl 44. A handle 45 attached to the upper end of cradle 38 carries a member 46 adapted to engage the upper end of pawl 44 when frame 38 is tilted with respect to frame 28.

The driving device for the propeller is best shown in Fig. 3. Power is applied in any suitable manner through a collar 49 to a disc 50 carrying projections 51. The main drive shaft 52 of the machine has mounted on its end a disc 53 carrying pins 54, and a flexible band 55 about pins 51 and 54 provides a yielding drive between disc 50 and the main drive shaft. Upon the main drive shaft there is, for each filling unit, a sprocket wheel 56, shown as appropriate for driving a chain 57, which in turn drives a sprocket 58 upon a shaft 59.

The end of shaft 59 carries a clutch member 60. In line with shaft 59 there is a shaft 61 carrying on one end the propeller 21. Rot-atable with shaft 61 there is acarrier 62 upon which there is slidably mounted a ring 63 which has a hub 64 feathered on shaft 61. Friction surfaces 65 are provided between clutch member 60 and ring 63. Slidable within member 62 there is a sleeve 66adapted to operate levers 67 fulcrumed at 68 upon ring 63 and bearing upon abutment screws 69 in member 62, so that movement of sleeve 66 towards member 60 forces ring 63 in that direction with multiplied pressure.

Sleeve 66 is pivotally connected at 70 with a lever 71 fulcrumed upon the frame at 72. Lever 71 is connected through a rock shaft 73 and its associated arms to a link 74 pivoted at 75 to a'trip lever 76 fulcrumed on the frame at 77.

A forwardly extending arm 78 of lever 7 6.

is provided with a pin 79 working in a slot 80 of a link 81. A rod 82 adjustably connects link 81 with a pivot 83 on a lever 84 fulcrumed to the frame at 85. Lever 84 is provided with an operating handle 86. A rearward extension 87 of lever 84 is connected to a frame by atehsion spring 88 which normally raises the handle of the lever.

The rear end of scale beam 31 has downwardly extending brackets 90 and 91 upon which there is supported a suitable weight 92, which is adjustable for properly counterbalancing the loaded bag. A rear extension 94 on the scale beam works between adjustable abutment nuts- 95 and 96 and the swing of the scale beam is limited thereby.

On lower beam 12 there is a bracket 97 ,upon which there is pivotally mounted at 98 a trip pawl 99. The upper end of this pawl cooperates with a suitable catch 100 mounted on the scale beam. As shown in'detail Fig.

. mally holds it in position to cooperate with catch 100. The rear end of lever 76 has mounted thereon a pivoted member 103 normally held in protruding position by a spring 104. l his member cooperates with a shoulder on the lower end of trip pawl 99, so as flange extending at the front below the joint' beam, nd the rear end of the beam rises,

at the rear end of spout 27. This passage bv a spring 105 until stoppe to rest thereon when pawl 99 is in vertical position. Catch 100 may be pivoted at 103 on a bracket 104, and normall pressed down by an adjustable stop belt 106.

A dust collecting passage may be made by a flange 107 below outlet passage 26, the

may be connected by pipe, not shown, to a 'pipe 108 leading to an upright pipe 109 which leads to a source of vacuum.

As will be seen from Fig. 4, a belt ti hteirer 110 may be provided for chain 5?, the tightener being mounted upon an arm 111 pivoted at 112 and adjusted to proper tightenin position bya screw 115.

he 0 eration of the device is clearly apparent rom the foregoing description, but, for convenience, will be stated in order as follows:

With the clutch members 60 and 63 separated, but with the main drive shaft and shaft 59 in operation, a valve bag is placed in the device with spout 57 entering the valve thereof and the bottom in proper relation to bottom support 41. There-after handle 86 is lowered against the tension of spring 88 un- The upward movement of the rear end of lever 76 raises rod 74 and through rock shaft 73 and its connections swings lever 71 in a direction to move sleeve 66 and ring 63 towards member 60, thereby brin ing into engagement friction faces 65 an closing the clutch. Thereafter propeller 21 is rapidly rotated. Material sliding down slanting side 19 of chute 16 movesagainst disk 21 and drops into groove 23. Blades 22, moving forward in succession in groove 23, drive the material out through opening 26 andtube 27 into the bag. Housing 24 with its flange-25 prevents the material from essing in upon upper portion of the trave of the blades 22. Preferably the housing 24 is spaced upward from the top of the travel of blades 22, in order to prevent any objectionable packinv of material in this portion of he travel of blades 22. j

In this way it will be readily understood that the material moves downward against rotating disc 21 and from thence slides down into groove 23 and is driven out by blades 22 without any unnecessary friction, the power re uired for the movement of material belng t us reduced to a minimum and at the same time the danger of clogging or of injury to the material by friction with the propeller releasing the top of pawl 99. Thereupon the downward pressure of the rear end of lever 7 6 overcomes the resistance of spring 101, and pawl 99 is swung forward until its shoulder no longer supports member 103, 'whereupon the rear end of lever 7 6 is free to move downward, with the resultant downward ber 120'mounted to be moved by lever 71 and having a flange 121 adapted to cooperate with a flange 122 on a member 123 rigidly secured upon shaft 61. Member 120 is, of'course, held against rotation, and, when it is brought into shaft 61 and propeller 21.

frictional contact with member 123, it acts as a brake and promptly stops the rotation of By this means the feedin of the material is stopped promptly after t e scale beam moves in response to the overbalancing load in the bag.

The operator then moves handle forward, tilting cradle 38 about pivots 41. Member 46 contacts pawl 44 and releases bag clamp 43, allowing the bag to be removed from the filling tube. A member 125 may connect the legs of cradle 38 and contact the back of the bag so as to push the top of the bag off of spout 27 when the cradle is tilted. After the bag has been discharged, the cradle is allowed to return to its -normal position, whereupon the devic is in position to receive another n the construction shown, there are two units and the operator can alternately remove a bag from one spout and put an empty bag thereon while the bag on the other spout is bein filled. In this way, bags may be filled rapidly witho'ut-lossof time of the operator and without waste of power applied to the discharging device or injury to the material, because of unnecessary friction in the discharge device.

Dust which escapes the stationary outlet and the moving filling spout, and through the opening into the bag around. the spout, is carried off by the vacuum means, and may be returned to the hopper in'any suitable manner.

A modification of the hopper and'prope'ller is illustrated in Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive. In

this modification, the hopper 130 is of approximately circular shape in cross section,

' as best shown in Fig. 12. The hopper is provided at its upper end with a flange 131 adapted to be attached to the lower side of beam 14. Shaft 161 is extended'so as to bring the propeller 132 to the middle of the hopper.

at the joint between -Fig. 11.

.close proximity to inner flange 133 and within the outer end of the passage surrounded by flange135. Plate 138 surrounding filling tube 127 is located in close proximity to flange 135, and is 'provided with openings 139 throagh which dust, escaping through the valve of a-bag around the filling tube, may be drawn into passage 136. Pipe 140 connects passage 136 with any suitable source of vacuum. i

Liner 134 is provided with a groove 141 into which blades 142 of propeller 132 fit with I just suflicient play to avoid excessive friction. The bottom of groove 141 is curvedto fit the path of the outer edge. of blades 142, but a discharge opening 143 extends forward from the groove and opens in approximate alinement with tube 127.

Above the path of blades 132 there is a shroud 144, which has an approximately cylindrical inner surface described about a center above the axis of the propeller, so that there is a clearancespace 145 above the top of the path of the blades, and this clearance space is gradually reduced towards the rear of the path of the blades. In the construc tion shown, the shroud is provided with flanges 146 which slant outward away from the blades at the top of their travel, but approach the blades more nearly as they approach the horizontal. This provides a clearance space at both the end and sides of the blades at the top of tlieir path, with the shroud approaching the blades as the blades travel to the rear anddownward, thus wedging material into the rear of groove 141.

In the form shown, propeller 132 is pro,- vided with feeding fins 147 nearer the hub than discharge blades 142, and preferablyin staggered relation to the blades, as shown in These fins aid inpreventing the clogging of light material and insuring a continuous feed downward into groove 141.

As will be seen, shroud 144 is sharpened 'at its upper edge, to prevent the lodgement of material thereon, and the walls of hopper 130 are flared outward slightly at 148, to' lessen crowding of material between the shroud and hopper walls.

The general operation of this modification is the same a'sthat described for the form shown in Figs. 1 to 9, the only difference being in the hopper, propeller, and exhaust passages. These are" preferable for some materials, as the construction allows the material to be fed to both sides of the propeller in a stream gradually narrowing as it approaches the propeller and ending at the groove which receives the discharge blades at the bottom of their travel. The removable liner is not only useful for permitting ready replacement of this part when worn, but also allows of ready adjustment for different different materials or conditions. The

straight rearward exhaust passages are most efficient in removing dust, and also allow air to be sucked past the liner to cool the same and avoid overheating of the discharged material by friction in the discharge device.

While one form of the apparatus has been shown in considerable detail and a modification of the hopper and propeller has been shown, it will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a packing apparatus, a casing, and a centrifugal propeller mounted within the casing upon a horizontal axis and having discharge blades, there being a groove in the bot tom of the casing fitting the path of said blades and leading to a discharge opening, the Walls of the groove extending nearer the axis of the propeller than do said blades, and the walls of the casing narrowing towards said groove.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, and the propeller being provided with feed ing blades between its axis and the discharge blades.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, and the propeller having feeding blades radially staggered with respect to said discharge blades and nearer the axis of the propeller than said discharge blades.

4. In*-packaging apparatus, a vertically movable filling tube, a stationarycasing having a dischargeopening in approximate alinement harizontally with said tube, and a propeller within the casing adapted to discharge material through said opening into said tube, the casing having passages in its wall leading away from the vicinity of said joint and around the path of said propeller adjacent said opening, whereby dust may be moved away from said joint by air entering and passing through said passages and cooling said casing adjacent said propeller.

5. In packaging apparatus, a downwardly tapering hopper, a lining member in the bottom of the hopper and having a groove in its upper side and a discharge opening in line with said groove, a relatively movable filling tube adjacent said discharge opening, and there being passages in the hopper walls leading from the region around said discharge opening and extending alongside said groove and forming conduits for cooling air and for withdrawal of dust from around said opening.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim '5; and having a flange on said tube adjacent said dischar e opening, there being openings throu h sai flange in lme with saidpassages.

7 n a bag filling device, a centrifugal propeller monnted upon a horizontal axis and provided with'discharging blades, a casing directing the material towards the side of the propeller, means shrouding the path of the blades from their upper position in the dim tion of their movement to their lowest position, and a filling tube, there bein a dis charge opening through said means om the lowest portion of the path of said blades to said filling tube and the shrouding means comprising a separate removable lining for the bottom of thecasing and having a groove in its upper side fitting the path of travel of the discharge blades.

8. In a bag filling 'device, a centrifugal propeller mounted upon a horizontal axis and provided with discharging blades, a filling tube, means shrouding the path of the blades from their upper position in the direction of their movement to their lowest position and forming a groove for the bottom of the path of said blades and there being a discharge opening through said means from the lowermost portion of the path of said blades to said filling tube, and a casing havin its inner surface slanting downward towards said propeller terminating at the edge of said groove and directing material towards the side of the propeller.

9. In a bag filling device a centrifugal propeller mounted upon a horizontal axis and provided with discharging blades, a cas mg directing material towards the side 01 the propeller, means shrouding the path of the blades from their upper position in the direction of their movement to their lowest position, and a filling tube, there being a discharge opening through said means from the lowermost portion of the path of said blades to said filling tube and the casin bein substantially circular in internal horlzonta cross section, of enlarged diameter on a level with the top of the path of the discharge blades and narrowing downward to the bottom of said path.

10. In a bag filling device, a centrifugal propeller mounted upon a. horizontal axis and provided with dischargin blades, a casing directing material towar s the side of the propeller, means shrouding the path of the blades from their upper position in the direction of their movement to their lowest 0- sition, and a filling tube, there bein a ischarge opening through said means rom the lowermost portion of the path of said blades to said filling tube and the shrouding means being spaced from the upper part of the path of both the ends and sides of the discharge blades and gradually approaching the path of said ends and sides as the bottom of the path is approached.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto signed our names to this specification.

NEILD E. DORRINGTON.

WILLIAM R. PETERSON. 

